After Tanzania’s 2-0 victory over Burkina Faso on Sunday night in the opening match of the African Nations Championship (CHAN)—a tournament for players who play in their domestic leagues—Head Coach of the Taifa Stars, Hemed Suleiman 'Morocco', has declared that what Tanzanians witnessed was just the beginning, promising even greater performances in upcoming matches.
Speaking after the historic win at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium—marking the first time Tanzania is hosting the tournament, which began in 2009 in Ivory Coast—Morocco said he believes the current Taifa Stars squad is the strongest the country has ever assembled, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t perform well.
“We thank our boys, they tried to do what we’ve worked on, although it's not yet exactly how we want it to be,”
“I think we’ve had a good start, which was our aim. We’ll keep pushing to improve with every game.”
“It was a high-pressure match because it was the opener, at home, in front of our fans. We badly needed the win to set the tone and motivate our supporters. It wouldn’t have been right to lose as hosts. We believe the coming matches will be even better than today.”
“We now have a better squad than ever before, and I say this with confidence. We’ll ensure we perform even better than in previous years. This is just the beginning,” Morocco boasted.
The coach said that during preparations, they identified the team’s weaknesses—particularly in scoring—but also acknowledged their strong defense, and focused on maximizing scoring opportunities.
“When we began preparations, we knew our team didn’t have a great scoring average, but we knew we had a solid defense. So, we worked hard on capitalizing on chances,” he explained.
The Taifa Stars are scheduled to return to action on Wednesday at 8:00 PM in their second Group B match against Mauritania. The group also features Central African Republic and Madagascar, all playing in Dar es Salaam at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
Meanwhile, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Samia Suluhu Hassan, awarded the team TSh 40 million as a token of appreciation following their victory.
Speaking to the players while handing over the money, Minister of Culture, Arts, and Sports, Paramagamba Kabudi, said the President was very pleased with the performance.
“The President was thrilled by your performance. This money is a fulfillment of her promise to motivate you. I believe you’ll carry this momentum into the next matches,” Kabudi said.
In addition to the presidential reward, the Ministry also contributed TSh 20 million as a bonus, with Kabudi praising the technical bench for bringing pride to the nation.
He emphasized that it is time to fight for the championship title in this highly competitive tournament. He also thanked Tanzanians for turning up in large numbers to support the team.
Kabudi stated that the government had made significant preparations to see Tanzania crowned champions of the tournament. The CHAN tournament is being jointly hosted by three East African nations: Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda.
Source: IPP Media
